Sequester causes uncertainty

The sequester became a reality this month, but some of its realities remain unknown.

There are those who insist the across-the-board cuts are minimal and necessary, and no one will feel much pain. Others insist that the pain will be extreme and that Congress must act with all dispatch to undo the terrible harm.

Only time will tell, but in the meantime we are learning what it means to not know.

Federal employees are planning for unpaid furloughs - as long as 22 days - that will mean cutting back on spending in the community as well as cuts in the services they provide.

Visitors to federal parks should know that there may not be any rangers on duty this summer.

Pilots arriving at the Springfield-Branson National Airport overnight will have to figure out how to coordinate takeoffs and landings with no one in the control tower.

The U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield could have to furlough staff, including medical personnel. That could mean prisoners spending time in lock down, programs cut and safety compromised.

Even White House staff expect furloughs and pay cuts.

Students who depend on federal aid such as work-study and Pell Grants to attend college may not be able to continue in school.

Local school districts, including Springfield, could lose federal funds for programs that are intended to help educate low-income and special education students.

Families with children in Head Start may have to reconsider child care or quit their own jobs.

All of those things and more could happen - maybe.

While we don't know exactly how the sequester will affect our daily lives or those of our neighbors, what we do know is that all of this uncertainty is the result of some well-paid people (who, by the way, do not face any furloughs themselves) not doing the job they are being paid to do.

For those who are still confused about the sequester, it is a term used to describe mandatory spending cuts in the federal budget that were put into effect when Congress failed to pass a budget that includes its own spending cuts.

The automatic spending cuts were included in the Budget Control Act of 2011 - in fact, the first time it was included in the federal budget act was 1985. The whole idea was to encourage Congress to reduce the deficit by the end of 2012.

Despite some heroic efforts to make that happen - including work by a committee of 12 members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate known as the "Super Congress" - the 535 people we elected from across the country to represent our best interests in Washington, D.C., have been unable to agree on anything.

Now, instead of giving us some hope that the sequester threats are inspiring those elected men and women in Congress to get their work done quickly, before those threats become reality, we are not witnessing much more than political posturing.

Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner went on television to complain about the White House's warning that sequester furloughs could mean no White House tours during spring break.

The White House claims the tours cost the Secret Service an average of $74,000 a week, and the agency chose that option over furloughs.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) sent a letter to the White House budget office complaining about continued job postings for such jobs as historians and librarians.

The Pentagon is trying to get the attention of Congress by putting the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds on the budgetary chopping block. There would be no flyovers for sporting events, military funerals and military academy graduations.

While political maneuvering and grandstanding are taking place in the public's eye, the president invited 12 Republican senators over for dinner and a private chat Wednesday evening. He plans more get-togethers with his political foes.

While the politicians offer public sound bites and private strategy sessions, the nation - from federal employees to preschoolers - is left with uncertainty.

Sequester means not knowing if you will be able to continue to hold a job if your child can't attend Head Start, or whether you will be able to afford college, or if furloughs will mean you cannot pay your mortgage, or whether you will still have a job.

We agree that cuts must be made. The deficit is untenable.

Cutting the deficit is a job that must be done. It will be a difficult job and will certainly mean taking unpopular steps. But that is what we pay our senators and representatives to do - the difficult work of governing.

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Sequester causes uncertainty

The sequester became a reality this month, but some of its realities remain unknown.